Deep well pump



Patented Feb. 23, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEEP WELL PUMP Richard N. Vickers, Smackover, Ark.

Application July 10, 1951, Serial No. 236,033

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved deep well pump of the general character disclosed in Patent No. 2,048,085, issued to me July 21, 1936.

An object of the invention is to provide a pump wherein the pump assembly may be pulled from a well without pulling the well tubing therefrom, and wherein said assembly will require no special parts at the foot of the well tubing to accommodate said assembly, so that the assembly may be installed in any well having a tubing conforming to usual practice.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pump assembly wherein provision will be made for the flow through the assembly of the liquid being pumped, independently of any surrounding jacket or nipple for said assembly, so that any necessity for providing a tight seal at any point between the assembly and the jacket or nipple, except the usual packing at the foot of the well, will be avoided.

And the invention seeks, as a still further object, to provide an assembly embodying a valve cage and separate bypass unit which cooperate to provide a receiving chamber for the liquid being pumped, wherein said unit will be provided with straight, vertical bypass passages through which said liquid may be freely lifted from said chamber into the standing tube or barrel of the pump, as the pump plunger moves upwardly, wherein said unit will be further provided, in combination with said vertical, straight passages, with inclined outlet passages for discharging said liquid into the well tubing, as the pump plunger moves downwardly, and wherein said outlet passages will be sloped upwardly and outwardly radially of said unit to freely conduct the liquid from said chamber into the well tubing.

Other and incidental objects will appear during the course of the following description of the invention, and in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through my improved pump.

Figure 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section particularly showing the bypass unit and standing valve cage.

Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4-. is a transverse section on the line 44 of Figure 2.

In the drawings, I have shown my improved pump in conjunction with a conventional well tubing W, at the lower end of which is provided the usual nipple l I connected with the tubing by a collar I 2. As will be observed, the nipple H is oi less diameter than the tubing.

Disposed in the lower end portion of the nippie II is a cup tube i3 carrying suitable cups I l which serve to packoff the well pressure between the tube and nipple, and screwed onto the upper end of said tube is a tubular valve cage 15. Clamped between the tube and cage is a seat 16 upon which normally rests a standing valve 11, and formed on the inner circumference of the chamber for said valve is an annular series of spaced, vertical ribs l8 adapted to limit lateral play of the valve and guide the valve in its vertical movement beneath a stop spider l9 at the upper end of said chamber.

Screwed onto the upper end of the cage I5 is a bypass unit 20 which is provided at its lower end with a recess 2| cooperating with a similar recess 22 in the upper end of the cage to form a receiving chamber 23 between the two parts. At its upper end, the unit 20 is provided with a recess 24, and formed through said unit, as best seen in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, is a series of vertical, circumferentially spaced, bypass passages 25 which lie parallel to the axis of said unit and connect the chamber 23 with the recess 24.

The unit 20 is cored axially to provide an outlet chamber 26, and leading from the upper end portion of said chamber through the periphery of said unit is a pair of oppositely disposed, inclined outlet passages 21 which slope upwardly and outwardly radially of the unit. Disposed within. the chamber 26 is a valve seat 28 retained by a tubular plug 29 screwed into the lower end portion of said chamber, and normally resting upon said seat is an outlet valve 30. Formed on the unit 2!] immediately below the upper ends of the passages 21 is an annular flange 3! which rests upon the upper end edge of the nipple H and supports the pump assembly in operative position within the well tubing it).

Screwed into the upper end of the bypass unit 20, as best seen in Figure 1 of the drawings, is a tubular stem 32 onto which in turn is screwed a head 33 provided axially with a socket 34 having a left hand thread. Screwed at its lower end to the head 33 is a standing tube 35 which forms the barrel of the pump, and reciprocable in said tube is a plunger 36. Screwed into the lower end of the plunger is a stud 31 adapted to fit the socket 34 and provided with a left hand thread to engage the thread of said socket.

Screwed onto the upper end of the plunger 36 is a head 38 to which the usual pump rods are attached, and screwed onto the lower end of said head is a sleeve 39 which telescopically fits the standing tube 35 snugly. An annular chamber 40 is thus defined between the sleeve and plunger at the upper end of the standing tube.

Formed in the upper end of the plunger 35 is an axial passage 4| at the lower end of which are radial ports 42 communicating with the chamber 40, and formed in the head 38 to communicate with said passage is an aligned valve chamber 43 at the upper end of which are radial ports 44 openingthrough the periphery: of the head. Clamped between the head and-plunger is a valve seat 45, and normally resting upon said seat is a relief valve 46. Thus, any liquid trapped in the chamber 49 may flow through the ports-6 2, passages 4|, valve chamber 43, and ports 44 to emerge into the well tubing I0.

In operation, upward movement ofthe plunger 36 will open the standing valve I! and liquid will be lifted through the tube 13 and "cage L15 into the receiving chamber 23 between the cage and: bypass unit ilpwhence-the liquid'will, rise through the passages 25 .of'said unit-and through the stem 32 and head 33 intov the standing tube 35. Aswill'berperceived, the passages 25 ofuthe bypass unit provide a straight, unobstructed course for the upwardflow ofthe liquid. lUpon thereturndownward'movement of theplunger 35, the standing-valve, Ilwill close and liquid in the standing tube 35 will be forced back through the passages .25: into the :receiving .chamber. 23, 5

whence the liquid will be forced to open the. outlet valve'3lland flow. upwardlythroughthe outlet chamber 26.: and .outlet passages. 21 into the wellitubing; H) to rise to. the surface of the well. As'thetpassages 2'! are inclined upwardly, the angularity thereof will. ofier a corresponding minimumirretardation to the upward flow of the liquid. Thus, in: the present. instance; by, combining the :use of the straight, vertical passages 25.,with the inclinedlpassagesl'! in the bypass;unit 20,; maximum eificiencyzof the pump-assembly is obtained.

-It is to be noted that, in the. present instance, the receiving chamber 23 makes .provision within the assembly itself, independently of the nipple Thus thepresent assembly may be-readily installed in any well using'a conventional tubing, without the necessity for flrstpulling the tubing to install a special nipple at-the'foot 'of thetubing. It is further pertinent to observe'that the provision of the chamber 23 between the cage l5 and bypass unit 20 also renders it unnecessary to providea seal between the bypass unit and the nipple i I at the flange 3| so that itispossible to rest said flange against the upper end-edge of said nipple "without any special joint between the parts.

To withdraw'the pump assembly from the tubing ill, the plunger 35- is lowered and rotated to the'left toengage the stud -31 in the socket of the head 33, when the assembly maybe pulled upwardly. Similarly, by engaging the stud in said socket, the assembly may be lowered into the tubing and installed, when the plunger may be freed by rotating it to the right.

Having thus described my invention,'I claim:

1. In a deep well pump, a pump assembly in cluding a bypass unit provided at. its lower end with a recess and having an external supporting flange, said unit being cored axially to {provide an outlet chamber intersecting said, recess; and

"with a recess registering with the recess at the .lowe'rrend of said unit to provide a receiving chamber communicating with said outlet-cham- '--ber but closed by the cage to exclude the return of: pumped liquidthrough the periphery of the cage into said receiving chamber, said unit being provided internally with a vertical bypass passage leading from the upper end of said unit into said receiving chamben. and means. in communication withi-thesupperend "of said unit" and operable to pump .a'. liquid upward-1y through. said assembly as well as' forcethe pumped liquid back through said assembly for discl'largeat' a point of. exit.

2. In a deep well pump, a well tubing, a nipple attached to the lowerend ofsaid tubing-and-of less diameter than the diameter of the tubing to expose the upper end edge of the nippleya pump assembly including a bypass unit provided at its lower-end with a-recess and having an external flange resting uponsaid edge of the nippleforremovably supporting the assembly in operative position within said tubing and nipple,

said unit being coredaxially to'provide an outlet chamber intersecting said recess and being formed with-an inclinedoutlet passage sloping upwardly from said chamber-to open through the periphery-of said unit at a point above said flange and communicate with the lower-end of the well tubing, an outlet valve mounted in said outlet chamber at the lower end of said inclined outlet passage and controlling, back-flow through said outlet, passage, an imperforate valve cage connected to the lower end of saidunit, a standingvalve mounted. in the cage near the lowerend thereof and controlling. back-flow through the cage,'-a cup tubeconnected to the lower-end of saidfcage' and provided with a cupto coact-with said nipple for sealing off hydrostatic pressure in the well tubing and the nipple at apoint above the lower end'of said. cup tube, said cage being open atits ends-but,closed atfits periphery to communication with the nipple above the point ofseal' of said cup'with the nipple,,the upper end ofrthecage-beingprovided with a recess registere ing withthe'recessat the lower end ofsaid unit to form a receiving. chamber communicating, with said outlet chamber. as .well as communicating withsaid nipple solely through the lower end of said cup tube, a standing. tube connected withthe upper end of said unit, said unit beingprovided internally with a vertical, bypass passage connectingsaid standing tube-with said receiving chamber, and a plunger reciprocal in said standing tube.

RICHARD N. VICKERS.

References Cited in the flle of "this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

